Hanauma Bay

We couldn’t go to the ocean without trying snorkeling so Linda and I set off on a drive to Hanauma Bay. This bay was recommended to us for great snorkeling and our first stop was a gear shop to get all the equipment we would need. Being novices we were glad for a kind and understanding sales girl who set us up with masks, snorkels, fins, lifejackets, and an umbrella. 

That was a lot of equipment to carry so we were grateful to take a ride down to the bay on a tram pulled by a truck. And we were extremely grateful that they went both ways because we were too tired to carry all this up the hill after being in the water. 

When we first arrived we had to go into a building to see a safety video but the day we were there the projector was broken so we were just told a few things.

The beach was crowded and we at first tried to screw our umbrella tube down into the ground. We were obviously having trouble and some kind fellow took pity on us and helped us. But even he had a hard time getting it completely down and later we found out that it wasn’t anchored so well when the wind practically took it away and turned it inside out. 

Linda and I are not beach people and I’m sure the lifeguards were amused when they saw us trying to manage putting on our flippers in the water with the waves knocking us over all the time. We did manage to somewhat learn to float with the lifejackets and breathe properly and I did see some fish. It was not exactly like in Finding Nemo but it was a good experience. We stayed in for a while, rested and then went back in. The second time the tide was high and the winds blowing the waves in with such force that we didn’t have much luck. But all in all we tried. Not bad for a seventy four year old!

After we returned our equipment we stopped at the Malasada truck for a doughnut. There was always a line and worth waiting for. I got the custard one which tasted exactly like fried dough with a custard filling.